Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 23,430 Shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its position in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,430 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.17% of Chesapeake Energy worth $17,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CHK shares. Citigroup raised Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. TheStreet downgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $88.41 on Tuesday. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $72.84 and a 12-month high of $91.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.00. The stock has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a PE ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.52.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.89. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.66%.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It engages in acquisition, exploration, and development of properties to produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. The company holds interests in natural gas resource plays in the Marcellus Shale in the northern Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and the Haynesville/Bossier Shales in northwestern Louisiana.